A common problem with known three-wheel motorcycles, known as “trikes”, is their vulnerability to flipping or turning over upon entering and/or maneuvering through a turn at high speeds, or even at more moderate speeds. This tendency to turn or flip over makes trikes, in general, dangerous even to the most experience drivers. The problem of flipping or turning over is created by centrifugal force acting upon the relatively high center of gravity of the vehicle of the existing trikes. Conventional trikes lean into a turn and thus lower the center of gravity and effectively counterbalance the centrifugal force to prevent this flipping over or turning over. However, with three-wheel vehicles this normally cannot be done because of the action of three wheels instead of two. Thus, one major problem that exists today with trikes is there to flip or turnover when maneuvering turns even at normal speeds.
Another problem with known devices that do permit the banking or tilting of the operator and/or passengers is that a good portion or even most of the weight of the vehicle itself does not tilt which only partially solves the problem. The engine of the vehicle is one of the heaviest components overall and failure to mount the power plant so that it may bank is one of the limitations of these known devices. Again the problem in these vehicles is due to the relatively high center of gravity. A trike having a design that allows the rifer to tilt the trike so as to achieve a better center of gravity requires skill and total concentration at all times. A single distraction and failure to tilt the trike enough could cause the trike to tip or turnover with disastrous results.
Yet still another problem of known devices, which employ mechanism for banking or tilting portions of the vehicle, is that they do not provide fail-safe mechanism for the operating structure thereof. That is, if something should happen during the operation of the vehicle, they will not normally resume a neutral or upright position by themselves after the turn is completed. This could cause the trike to crash if tilting of the trike is not brought to the proper position after the turn is completed. Again, even riders with the most skill can misjudge a turn and tip or overturn.
Still yet another problem that exist with trikes available today is that the designs available have a tremendous wind resistance and drag thereby making them less fuel efficient than can be expected from a vehicle with the weight-to-power ratio.
Another problem with existing trike is the comfort level of the rider and passenger during riding. Trikes available on the market today require that the rider and passenger sit in an upright position with their legs dangling below the seat. This position not only places most of the weight on the butt thereby leading to back strain, but also impedes bloods flow to the lower extremities. This makes it necessary for the driver and passenger to stop frequently to prevent medical problems such as cramps and blood clots that can be disastrous when driving.
Still yet another problem with the existing tikes is there lack of storage room. Simply put most trikes do not have any storage room. Instead, a trailer is usually hitched to the trike in order to provide storage. This not only makes the trike unstable, but it also increases fuel consumption due to one or more additional wheels being on the road.
These problems together with many others such as difficulty in cooling internal combustion operated engines, the structural mounting of said engines, the problem of shock absorbing structures together with the lack of an automatic or semi-automatic operation all make existing tikes undesirable for average user.
All in all, a need currently exist for a trike with better maneuverability and performance, a design that decreases tipping and overturning, better aerodynamics, higher gas mileage, better storage without additional wheels on the road, and a trike that is generally more comfortable than existing trikes. The present invention is directed to an improved trike that has a permanent lower center of gravity and sleek design that overcomes the problems with existing three wheeled motorcycles on the road today.
The present invention is further described below in the figures and description thereof.